“The local authority makes the decision on how to issue those,” Walter “Budge” Currier, 911 branch manager for the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), said at an informational panel on emergency communication last week.
At present, residents opt in to the system; state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D-19) legislation would reverse that so residents would be responsible for opting out.
“Emergency warning systems in California come in a variety of forms, and each form has specific capabilities and drawbacks,” the SB 821 fact sheet reads. “Systems range from relatively low-tech options like making door-to-door announcements on foot, to auto-dialing telephones that can relay detailed emergency information to houses at a block-by-block level.”
However, giving residents the responsibility for signing up for the program has resulted in a lack of its use.
“When the Thomas Fire — the largest fire in California history — broke out, less than 30 percent of residents had signed up to receive county-generated cellphone and email alerts,” the fact sheet continues.
Having access to “the contact information of resident account holders through the records of a public utility or other agency responsible for water service, waste and recycling services, or other property-related services for the sole purpose of enrolling county residents in a county-operated public emergency warning system” would change that, according to the bill.
The bill does not address concerns about whether the contact information is for a landline or cellphone, as was brought up at the hearing. Mobile carriers can provide emergency notifications, but the service is not yet perfected.
“Given the unique ability to target alerts using physical addresses,” the fact sheet notes, “locally operated telephonic notification systems are among the most precise emergency notification systems in use today, but because registration of mobile phones is not automatic, many jurisdictions struggle to get residents to sign up to receive alerts.”
